TRANSPORT

Dual Carriageways

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons fencing which obscures drivers' vision is being erected near traffic islands on the central reservation of dual carriageways.

Robert Goodwill: Without more site specific detail we are unable to provide more information on the reasons fencing which obscures drivers' vision is being erected near traffic islands on the central reservation of dual carriageways.
	Fencing may be erected on the Strategic Road Network for different reasons depending upon the needs of the location in question. The Highways Agency produce, maintain and apply standards and guidance for the different types of fencing used on the Strategic Road Network. These standards and site specific evaluations consider the risks and benefits before works commence.
	Local Highway Authorities may choose to adopt these standards for use on the local road network.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish an updated version of the KPMG report on HS2 regional economic impacts, addressing the question of whether there will be slower journey times and less frequent services between those towns and cities which will be reliant on the classic rail network following the completion of HS2; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Goodwill: The analysis presented in the September 2013 report “Regional Economic Impacts of HS2” undertaken by KPMG on behalf of HS2 Ltd is based on the train service specifications for both HS2 and the classic rail network used to inform the August 2012 Economic Case for HS2, which was the most up to date information at the time the analysis was undertaken.
	These train service specifications have been created for modelling and appraisal purposes only and do not represent a commitment to any specific service pattern. The Department will continue to develop its understanding of the best use of the rail network with HS2 and the implications of different options for the costs of operating the rail network.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the cost-benefit calculations for High Speed 2 will continue to assume a reduction in the cost of operating the classic rail network after the HS2 route is completed; what total annual saving is assumed; what specific reductions in services and frequencies are proposed; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Goodwill: We will continue to keep all assumptions made in the economic case for HS2 under review to ensure decisions are based on the best available evidence.
	The latest economic case published in October 2013 assumes that when HS2 opens fast intercity services to Birmingham and points north will be migrated to the new high speed network, with offsetting reductions in intercity services on the classic rail network.
	Descriptions of the assumed service offerings were set out in ‘PfM v4.3: Assumptions report’, published in October 2013 alongside the Economic Case. A copy has been placed in the House Library.
	These assumptions have been created for modelling and appraisal purposes only and do not represent a commitment to any specific service pattern. The Department will continue to develop its understanding of the best use of the rail network with HS2 and the implications of different options for the costs of operating the rail network.
	The estimated annual saving assumed in the economic case for HS2 is £447 million in 2033-34 (in real 2011 prices, undiscounted).

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish an updated version of the KPMG report on High Speed Rail 2 Regional Economic Impacts to include the disbenefits identified by KPMG for those regions not served by HS2; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Goodwill: The analysis presented in the September 2013 report “Regional Economic Impacts of HS2” undertaken by KPMG on behalf of HS2 Ltd identified the impact on productivity for all areas across Great Britain, including those not served by HS2. The findings presented in the September 2013 report show the net impact on productivity—that is the sum of total gains in productivity minus any losses.
	Of course HS2 doesn't serve all areas and the KPMG figures reflect that. The benefits are naturally greater in the places the line serves directly. This analysis does not include the benefits of other investments to boost the transport system. This Government will invest £73 billion in the next Parliament, of which £17 billion will be spent on HS2, and this will help places not being served by HS2.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether stopping services on the West Coast Main Line will be reduced following the completion of the HS2 route; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Goodwill: The introduction of HS2 services will deliver a huge improvement to passengers who currently use the West Coast Main Line when the Phase 1 route opens in 2026. In addition HS2 introduction will enable existing train service to be reconfigured to provide improvements to many inter-regional and commuter services. The Department shortly intends to launch an open and consultative process to help develop and refine the work to plan GB rail services as a whole following the opening of HS2. Any changes to service patterns on existing lines will be subject to consultation during the development of future franchise propositions. The Department, in its role as Franchising Authority, will be clearly focused on ensuring that rail services work as a whole, at network level to offer best value for passengers and taxpayers.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect of line closures on the classic rail network as a result of the construction of HS2; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Goodwill: HS2 Ltd has estimated that around 386 weekend closures of parts of the existing rail network will be necessary as a result of the construction works for the full HS2 Y network (Phase 1 and Phase 2).
	HS2 Ltd has advised that the closures will be a mix of partial and full closures, although in most cases some rail services will be able to operate on the affected lines albeit with some service restrictions.
	In addition it will be necessary to utilise some midweek night time closures, although wherever possible these will combined with planned renewals activities.
	In comparison, Network Rail has estimated that around 2,790 weekend closures of parts of the rail network would be required if rail alternatives to the full HS2 Y network were adopted in its place.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what further plans he has for public consultation on the use of the Washwood Heath site by High Speed 2.

Robert Goodwill: In addition to the consultations already carried out by the Department for Transport prior to deposit of the High Speed Rail (London-West Midlands Bill), there is now a period of public consultation on the Environmental Statement for the proposed scheme that closes on 24 January.
	There are no other plans for public consultation on the proposed London-West Midlands route.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the potential effect of closures on the road network as a result of the construction of High Speed 2; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Goodwill: The traffic and transport impacts of all proposed temporary and permanent road and public right of way closures and associated diversions have been assessed in the Transport Assessment in Volume 5 of the Environmental Statement (ES) for the most likely scenarios. The resultant environmental effects are also included within the ES for each Community Forum Area (Volume 2 reports).

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received from (a) the China Railway Group, (b) Birmingham City Council and (c) Birmingham Airport on investment in links to High Speed 2 infrastructure.

Robert Goodwill: Sir Albert Bore, Leader of Birmingham City Council, wrote to the Secretary of State for Transport, on December 2013, seeking his support for facilitating a meeting between HS2 Ltd and CSR Corporation Limited, a Chinese rolling stock company. Sir Albert's letter refers directly to the possibility of Chinese investment in HS2, though not to any specific project or link to HS2.
	There have so far been no direct approaches from either Birmingham City airport or China Railway Group relating to investment in links to HS2 infrastructure.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  whether passport control services will operate in Manchester and Leeds under current plans for High Speed 2;
	(2)  whether passengers from Birmingham will (a) have the facility to clear customs at Curzon Street or (b) be required to change trains at Old Oak Common to clear customs under current plans for High Speed 2.

Robert Goodwill: Arrangements for passport control and customs services, including whether passengers would be required to change trains at Old Oak Common, will depend on the Home Office requirements in place at the time services are in operation. These will be developed in co-ordination with the Home Office during the detailed design process.
	The designs of Old Oak Common and Birmingham Curzon Street stations allow space for customs facilities to be provided, based on those utilised by Eurostar at Ebbsfleet and St Pancras. We are currently consulting on the Phase Two route and station options and detailed design work of the stations at Manchester and Leeds will be undertaken after the planned route has been announced.

Northern Rail

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent progress he has made on the acquisition of additional rolling stock for the Northern Rail franchise.

Stephen Hammond: We issued a Request for Proposal for additional rolling stock to benefit from the ongoing electrification programme, and this has been responded to by Northern.
	We are currently evaluating its submission.

Procurement

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of his Department's overall procurement spend for each of the previous three financial years was (a) spent on joint procurement exercises with other Departments and (b) shared between different organisations within the same Department group.

Stephen Hammond: The proportion of the Department's overall procurement spend for the previous financial year spent on joint procurement exercises with other Departments was 21%. The figures for the two previous financial years were not available within the time scale required to answer this question, but I will write to the hon. Lady in due course to provide this information, and place a copy of the letter in the Libraries of the House.
	While there is collaboration within the departmental group on some procurement exercise, this is not material compared to the figures above.

Railways: Cumbria

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what steps he plans to take to ensure that the Cumbrian Coast railway line is protected from severe storm damage;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to ensure that rail services in West Cumbria will be less affected by adverse weather conditions in future.

Stephen Hammond: Network Rail owns and operates Britain's rail infrastructure. Included in their plans for Control Period 5 (2014-19) is a weather mitigation strategy, to help reduce the impact of severe weather on the network.

Railways: Cumbria

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many Network Rail delay minutes have been caused by adverse weather in Cumbria in each of the last five years.

Stephen Hammond: The Department does not hold the data at this level of disaggregation. This is a matter for Network Rail.

Railways: Weather

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) passenger and (b) freight or non-passenger trains have been cancelled on the Network Rail London North Western route owing to adverse weather in each of the last five years.

Stephen Hammond: The Department does not hold the data requested either disaggregated by Network Rail route or by cause. This is a matter for Network Rail.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent estimate he has made of any impact the implementation of the under-occupancy penalty in social housing has had on the number of households accumulating rent arrears in (a) the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, (b) Birkenhead constituency and (c) the UK.

Kris Hopkins: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 27 November 2013, Official Report, column 340-341W.

Local Plans

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local plans his Department had ordered to be withdrawn to be redrafted on 1 January 2014.

Nicholas Boles: holding answer 13 January 2014
	The Localism Act 2011 removed planning inspectors' powers to impose changes on local authorities' draft Local Plans. No local authorities have been ordered by the Planning Inspectorate or my Department to withdraw their draft Local Plan.
	Instead, following the Localism Act, during the public examination process, independent planning inspectors now report to the local authority and identify any conflicts between a draft Local Plan and national policy and regulatory process. However, they are only able to recommend modifications to overcome these issues if they are asked to do so by the council itself.
	Councils are now able to suggest their own modifications for assessment by the inspector during the examination, as well as making minor non-material changes themselves. The council is then free to choose to accept the inspector's modifications and adopt the draft plan, or resubmit a new plan. This approach is aimed at encouraging a more collaborative process as the public examination proceeds.
	From 1 January 2012 to 1 January 2014, 13 local planning authorities withdrew their plans for amendment.

Social Rented Housing: Essex

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent assessment he has made of trends in rent arrears in social housing in (a) Essex and (b) Chelmsford constituency.

Kris Hopkins: I refer my right hon. Friend to my answer of 27 November 2013, Official Report, column 340-341W.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcoholic Drinks: Sales

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice she provides to police forces about action to be taken against individual or groups who threaten or take action against those legally selling alcohol.

Norman Baker: It is lawful to sell alcohol under an appropriate licence. It is a long-standing tradition that people are free to gather together and to demonstrate their views, provided that they do so within the law. Rights to peaceful protest do not extend to violent or threatening behaviour. The police have powers to act in respect of a broad canvas of criminal offences relating to public disorder.

Animal Experiments

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many project licences have been approved for scientific procedures that include procedures on (a) cats and (b) dogs in each of the last five years; and what the severity limit of each such procedure was.

Norman Baker: From the information available to us, details of the numbers of project licences granted from 2009 to 2012 under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 authorising the use of cats and dogs, and the overall severity band of the licences, are given in the attached table, ie 41 projects using dogs and 14 projects using cats from 2009-13 inclusive.
	During 2013 five licences authorising the use of dogs were granted, one authorising the use of cats and one authorising the use of both cats and dogs. Following the implementation of European Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes on 1 January 2013 there has no longer been a requirement to allocate an overall severity band to project licences.
	The information for the severity limit of each individual procedure is not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			   Overall severity 
			  Licences granted Mild Moderate 
			 Dogs    
			 2009 5 3 2 
			 2010 5 4 1 
			 2011 9 3 6 
			 2012 10 4 6 
			     
			 Cats    
			 2009 2 1 1 
			 2010 1 - 1 
			 2011 0 - - 
			 2012 3 - 3 
			     
			 Cats and dogs    
			 2009 0 - - 
			 2010 2 2 - 
			 2011 2 2 - 
			 2012 2 1 1

Bovine Tuberculosis: South West

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional funding she is providing to (a) Avon and Somerset police and (b) Gloucestershire police to meet the costs of policing the badger cull.

Damian Green: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has agreed to cover any additional costs incurred by the relevant police forces as a result of policing the badger cull.

Bovine Tuberculosis: South West

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many hours of overtime were worked by police officers policing the pilot badger cull in (a) Somerset and (b) Gloucestershire.

Damian Green: This information is not held centrally.

Catalytic Converters: Theft

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the number of thefts of catalytic converters in (a) 2013, (b) 2012 and (c) 2011.

Norman Baker: The Home Office has made no such specific assessment. Some police forces hold data on the number of thefts of catalytic converters but these data are not collated centrally. On 28 November 2013, the Home Office published experimental statistics which showed that between April 2012 and March 2013 there were 28,843 infrastructure-related metal theft offences recorded by police forces in England and Wales. This figure includes catalytic converter thefts but it is not broken down further. This publication can be found using the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/metal-theft-england-and-wales-financial-year-ending-march-2013/metal-theft-england-and-wales-financial-year-ending-march-2013

Domestic Violence

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many properties in each police force area possess panic rooms for use by people experiencing domestic violence.

Norman Baker: The Home Office does not hold this information centrally.

G4S

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many contracts her Department has awarded to G4S since 1 January 2013.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 14 January 2014
	The Home Department has not awarded any contracts to G4S since 1 January 2013.

Prescription Drugs: Misuse

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times the Minister of State for Crime Prevention has met with (a) chief constables and (b) police and crime commissioners to discuss combating prescription drug abuse in the last 12 months.

Norman Baker: holding answer 13 January 2014
	Home Office Ministers have regular meetings with ministerial colleagues and others as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.
	We are fully aware of the dangers of prescription drug misuse. This is why in September 2013 the Home Secretary asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to explore the potential for medical and social harms arising from the diversion and illicit supply of prescription drugs. I have asked that this work includes consideration of the prevalence of misuse, user demographics, and the most common drugs being misused.
	The ACMD is likely to report later in the year.

Procurement

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of her Department's contracts have been let to companies with (a) one to five, (b) six to 49, (c) 50 to 250 and (d) more than 250 staff.

James Brokenshire: Information on the proportion of the Home Department's contracts that have been let to companies with one to five, six to 49 and 50 to 250 and more than 250 staff is not collated. To obtain this information would incur disproportionate costs.

Procurement

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion and value of her Department's contracts have been let (a) under the restricted procedure, (b) by the open procedure, (c) via framework agreements and (d) via a tendering process involving the use of a pre-qualification questionnaire in each of the last three years.

James Brokenshire: Information on the proportion and value of the Home Department's contracts that have been let under the restricted procedure, by the open procedure via framework agreements and via a tendering process involving the use of a pre-qualification questionnaire in each of the last three years is not collated. To obtain this information would incur disproportionate costs.
	The number of contracts that have been let under the restricted and open procedures can be found on Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) at:
	http://www.ted.europa.eu/TED/main/HomePage.do

Serco

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many contracts her Department has awarded to Serco since 1 January 2013.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 14 January 2014
	The Home Department has not awarded any contracts to Serco since 1 January 2013.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Parades Commission

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment she has made of the work of the Parades Commission.

Theresa Villiers: The Parades Commission operates independently of the Government in accordance with the Public Processions (NI) Act of 1998.
	I am certain that the new Parades Commission will tackle the difficult role which it has taken on with diligence and fortitude.

Security

Mel Stride: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions she has had with the Chief Constable of Northern Ireland on the security situation in Northern Ireland.

Theresa Villiers: I hold regular meetings with the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and we speak frequently by phone.
	We discuss a range of subjects including police resourcing and the general security situation in Northern Ireland.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Parliament: Educational Visits

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, how many school parties visited Parliament from each of the (a) English regions and (b) other constituent parts of the UK in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

John Thurso: The number of school parties visiting Parliament from each of the (a) English regions and (b) other constituent parts of the UK in each of the last three years is set out in the following table. The data refer to schools visiting Parliament on its core education programme; school groups visiting Parliament on Members' tours are not included.
	
		
			  2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 34 schools 61 schools 78 schools 
			  38 visits 72 visits 99 visits 
			  1,024 students 1,967 students 2,532 students 
			     
			 North West 56 schools 72 schools 74 schools 
			  83 visits 96 visits 88 visits 
			  2,186 students 2,434 students 2,198 students 
			     
			 North East 13 schools 15 schools 22 schools 
			  15 visits 16 visits 28 visits 
			  386 students 302 students 612 students 
			     
			 West Midlands 68 schools 79 schools 111 schools 
			  123 visits 133 visits 176 visits 
			  3,601 students 3,744 students 4,965 students 
			     
			 East Midlands 79 schools 73 schools 79 schools 
			  91 visits 100 visits 135 visits 
			  2,390 students 2,635 students 3,653 students 
			     
			 South East 142 schools 172 schools 189 schools 
			  222 visits 246 visits 304 visits 
			  5,732 students 6,393 students 7,762 students 
			     
			 East of England 102 schools 92 schools 109 schools 
			  147 visits 129 visits 145 visits 
			  3,748 students 3,218 students 3,852 students 
			     
			 London 228 schools 277 schools 312 schools 
			  372 visits 479 visits 494 visits 
			  10,406 students 13,258 students 13,229 students 
			     
			 South West 47 schools 79 schools 85 schools 
			  65 visits 113 visits 119 visits 
			  1,678 students 3,056 students 2,998 students 
			     
			 Scotland 21 schools 20 schools 15 schools 
		
	
	
		
			  28 visits 28 visits 20 visits 
			  613 students 664 students 464 students 
			     
			 Wales 33 schools 40 schools 33 schools 
			  52 visits 55 visits 52 visits 
			  1,469 students 1,520 students 1,314 students 
			     
			 Northern Ireland 9 schools 7 schools 12 schools 
			  9 visits 7 visits 14 visits 
			  178 students 110 students 294 students

Pay

Frank Field: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the answer of 11 December 2013, Official Report, column 226W, on pay, if he will publish the names of the six contractors who currently do not pay the London Living Wage to all staff.

John Thurso: We are continuing the exercise, described in my previous answer, that aims to ensure that contractors and subcontractors providing services to the House pay those workers assigned to our services the LLW. Discussions are taking place with two contractors who have dedicated workers carrying out a service on the Estate who do not currently pay all of those workers the LLW. We are doing the same with two companies who use a subcontractor based outside London to provide services to the House. These discussions might be prejudiced by naming the contractors, and the individual workers are entitled to privacy in relation to the wages they are paid. The wider exercise of identifying the wages paid by more than 750 contractors and subcontractors providing services to the House continues at pace but is a massive task. Where instances of non-payment of a living wage are found, steps are being taken to address this. I will be able to provide a fuller update on the outcome of this process by the middle of April.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Crown Prosecution Service

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Attorney-General what steps he has taken to maintain the close working relationship between the police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in light of the closures of CPS offices.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is committed to the effective and efficient prosecution of cases in every police force area in England and Wales. The CPS Board has concluded that there are real operational benefits to the CPS in consolidating its teams into fewer, larger—digitally enabled—regional hubs. In addition to unlocking worthwhile financial savings, the office consolidations which have already taken place have allowed teams carrying out similar work to combine, accrue the benefits of economies of scale, sustain performance and increase resilience.
	The reduction in CPS estate has not altered the fact that on a daily basis CPS lawyers and administrators work very closely with police colleagues to prosecute cases, including face to face meetings where these are appropriate.
	At the same time as making the changes to its operating model the CPS has undertaken to provide the police with certain core commitments ranging across the provision of advice, charging decisions, advocacy in court, bespoke services for serious and complex cases, joint (CPS/Police) performance reviews, single points of contact to discuss issues or concerns, and regular meetings at senior management levels both locally and nationally, to both maintain and build on current working relationships.
	The introduction of digital working by the CPS and wider criminal justice system also means that its work can be conducted without reference to current geographical or process boundaries. For example, national charging arrangements for volume cases were introduced in April 2013 administered by CPS Direct (CPSD). This provides a 24 hour digital and telephony charging service for every police force regardless of location. Equally, digitally enabled remote working now allows prosecutors to work at short notice, when required, with the police in police stations and courts.
	The net effect of the changes to the CPS' operating model in terms of estates and digital working is therefore intended to enable prosecutors to provide a better service than ever before to the police in terms of expertise and advice.

Fraud

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many (a) investigations, (b) prosecutions and (c) civil settlements were undertaken by the Serious Fraud Office in 2013 and each of the five previous calendar years; and how many of these were against (i) individuals and (ii) corporations.

Oliver Heald: Information on prosecutions, .investigations and civil settlement undertaken by the Serious Fraud Office is provided as follows. The number of individuals and corporations under investigation changes over the course of a case lifecycle and it is therefore not possible to provide the figures in the format requested. Data relating to a case may appear in more than one field.
	
		
			 (a) All investigations 
			  2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 Cases 20 16 15 13 19 9 
		
	
	
		
			 (b) Prosecutions commenced 
			  20081 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 (i) Individuals 28 40 55 22 12 24 
			 (ii) Corporations 1 1 1 0 0 3 
			 1 These data may not be complete due to changes in the SFOs case reporting systems. 
		
	
	
		
			 (c) Civil settlements commenced 
			  2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 (i) Individuals 0 0 0 0 0 1 
		
	
	
		
			 (ii) Corporations 0 2 0 4 2 0

Fraud

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what recent discussions the Director of the Serious Fraud Office has had with the Treasury about top-up funding for major investigations; and what the outcome of those discussions was.

Oliver Heald: Any additional funding for major investigations for the current financial year would normally be applied for through the supplementary estimate process. Discussions regarding this process continue and the outcome will be announced in due course.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Energy: Meters

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many and what proportion of households in England use token prepayment meters.

Gregory Barker: The major six energy supply companies have programmes in place to replace token prepayment meters with similar meters that are operated by using either a card or a key. Ofgem continues to monitor the companies' progress with the replacement.
	The following table shows the percentage of prepayment meter customers still using a token at the end of 2012 (latest data available). As of Quarter 3 of 2013, 16% of standard electricity customers in the UK were using prepayment meters. This figure is taken from table 2.4.2 of DECC's publication Quarterly Energy Prices.
	
		
			  Percentage of electricity PPM customers1 
			 British Gas 0.2 
			 E.On 0 
			 EDF (inc. smart card) 0.06 
			 npower 0.04 
			 SSE 0.25 
			 Scottish Power 0.1 
			 1 Ofgem data.

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the oral statement of 2 December 2013, Official Report, column 631, on energy bills, what recent discussions he has had with energy suppliers on reductions in bills for customers on fixed-term contracts.

Michael Fallon: Ministers have regular discussions with energy suppliers about a range of market issues, including bills and contracts.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the European Commission's ongoing investigation into the proposed nuclear plant at Hinkley Point; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: We welcome the European Commission's investigation and the consultation that will follow which will seek views to enable the Commission to make a legally robust decision. Such investigations on the part of the European Commission are a standard part of the process for interventions that are novel and complex. The Commission's decision to investigate represents another important step forward in progression of the state aid case for Hinkley.

Nuclear Power Stations: Emergencies

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what work has been undertaken as part of the National Strategic Planning review of emergency planning in the evacuation of populations in (a) the three-mile radius detailed emergency planning zone and (b) the wider 30-mile radius zone around nuclear power plants following a serious release of radiation in an accident when roads within both zones are impassable due to heavy snow cover or extensive flooding.

Michael Fallon: Detailed off-site plans for responding to reasonably foreseeable radiation emergencies are developed by local authorities hosting nuclear sites in accordance with Regulation 9 of the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2001 (REPPIR). These plans focus upon areas surrounding nuclear sites known as Detailed Emergency Planning Zones (DEPZs). The sizes of these DEPZs differ from site to site, ranging from 1 km to 3.5 kilometres in radius.
	Local authorities hosting nuclear sites are advised to draw up plans to enable them to extend measures described in their detailed plans if necessary (e.g. in response to very severe emergencies). These are known as “extendibility” plans. Further information about extendibility planning is available on the gov.uk website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/69113/NEPLG_guidance_ch_9_-_extendibility.pdf
	Off-site plans cover the application of a range of counter-measures, one of which is evacuation. Local authorities must ensure that their off-site plans are resilient to a range of weather conditions (e.g. those leading to, or involving, flooding or heavy snow).
	In accordance with REPPIR, off-site plans are reviewed and tested on a regular basis, to assess their accuracy and effectiveness, and are continually updated and improved. The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) is responsible for ensuring that such reviews and tests take place. Further information about REPPIR is available on the Health and Safety Executive's website:
	http://www.hse.gov.uk/radiation/ionising/reppir.htm
	The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) also continually assess the UK's overall preparedness in terms of planning for, and being able to respond to, nuclear emergencies.
	Following the events at Fukushima in Japan in 2011, ONR carried out a detailed assessment of the implications of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami for the UK (the Weightman report), which included analysis and recommendations concerning preparedness for severe and prolonged emergencies. The report and the assessment of progress against the report can be found on the Health and Safety Executive's website:
	http://www.hse.gov.uk/nuclear/fukushima/

Procurement

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of his Department's overall procurement spend for each of the previous three financial years was (a) spent on joint procurement exercises with other Departments and (b) shared between different organisations within the same Department group.

Gregory Barker: The information requested is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Department uses Crown Commercial Services framework agreements that are compiled on behalf of the whole of Government. From April to the end of November 2013 the Department has spent £25,094,543 through these arrangements.

Renewable Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  how much tidal generation capacity was installed in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013;
	(2)  how much offshore wind generation capacity was installed in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013;
	(3)  how much onshore wind generation capacity was installed in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013;
	(4)  how much biomass generation capacity was installed in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013;
	(5)  how much small-scale hydroelectric generation capacity was installed in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013;
	(6)  how much large-scale hydroelectric generation capacity was installed in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013.

Gregory Barker: This information is available in DECC's quarterly publication of Energy Trends, Table 6.1, available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewables-section-6-energy-trends
	This table was last published on 20 December 2013, providing renewable electricity capacity data to the end of September 2013. Data to December 2013, and for 2013 as a whole, will be available on 27 March 2014. Cumulative capacity, broken down by technology as at the end of 2011, 2012 and September 2013 (Q3 2013) are given as follows:
	
		
			 Energy Trends Table 6.1 December 2013 
			 Cumulative Installed Capacity (MW) 2011 2012 Q3 2013 
			 Onshore Wind 4,638 5,893 7,120 
			 Offshore Wind 1,838 2,995 3,657 
			 Shoreline wave/tidal 3 7 7 
			 Solar photovoltaics 993 1,706 2,542 
			 Small scale Hydro 204 215 220 
			 Large scale Hydro 1,471 1,471 1,471 
			 Landfill gas 1,050 1,036 1,044 
			 Sewage sludge digestion 198 199 206 
			 Energy from waste 544 593 599 
			 Animal Biomass (non-AD) 111 111 111 
			 Anaerobic Digestion 66 110 122 
			 Plant Biomass 1,149 1,203 1,992 
			 Total 12,264 15,538 19,091 
			 Co-firing 338 204 36 
			 Note: Table ET6.1 shows total cumulative capacity, as at the end of the stated period, and will be net of any reductions in capacity (for example, the closure of Tilbury biomass station in August 2013).

Supply Estimates

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to Annex A of his Department's Main Estimate 2013-14 entitled Detailed breakdown of Part II table changes from 2012-13, (a) what programmes are supported and (b) how much funding each such programme receives under the sub-headings (i) K Manage our energy legacy responsibility and cost-effectively, (ii) L Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDPB), (iii) M Coal Authority (NDPB) and (iv) N Civil Nuclear Police Authority (NDPB).

Gregory Barker: A detailed breakdown of the programmes supported under the sub-headings and the budgets for 2012-13 and 2013-14 at the time of the main estimate is held on the HM Treasury database OSCAR, and is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 £000 
			  Resource Capital 
			  2012-13 2013-14 Change 2012-13 2013-14 Change 
			 K Manage our energy legacy responsibility and cost-effectively 1,065,351 (232,293) (1,297,644) 33,462 (50,000) (83,462) 
			 British Energy 92,594 (184,487) (277,081) - - - 
			 Coal Health Liabilities 16.517 (1,547) (18,064) - - - 
			 Coal Pensions 926,000 0 (926,000) 33,462 (50,000) (83,462) 
		
	
	
		
			 Coal Privatisation Liabilities 220 0 (220) - - - 
			 Concessionary Fuel 30,020 (46,259) (76,279) - - - 
			        
			 L Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDPB) 6,834,000 597,000 (6,237,000) - - - 
			 Nuclear Decommissioning Authority AME 6,834,000 597,000 (6,237,000) - - - 
			        
			 M Coal Authority (NDPB) 174,000 5,972 (168,028) - - - 
			 Coal Authority AME 174,000 5,972 (168,028) - - - 
			        
			 N Civil Nuclear Police Authority (NDPB) 62 63 1 - - - 
			 Civil Nuclear Police Authority AME 62 63 1 - - -

Supply Estimates

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to Annex A of his Department's Main Estimate 2013-14 entitled Detailed breakdown of Part II table changes from 2012-13, (a) what programmes are supported and (b) how much funding each such programme receives under the sub-headings (i) E Deliver the capability DECC needs to achieve its goals, (ii) F NDA and SLC expenditure (NDPB), (iii) G Coal Authority (NDPB), (iv) H Committee on Climate Change (NDPB), (v) I Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Income (CFER) and (vi) J Electricity Market Reform.

Gregory Barker: A detailed breakdown of the programmes supported under the sub-headings and the Budgets for 2012-13 and 2013-14 at the time of the Main Estimate is held on the HM Treasury database OSCAR, and is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 £000 
			  Resource Capital 
			  2012-13 2013-14 Change 2012-13 2013-14 Chance 
			 E Deliver the capability DECC needs to achieve its goals 129,889 154,421 24,532 31,696 7,695 (24,001) 
			 Corporate Services and Strategy 3,706 20,691 16,985 31,696 7,695 (24,001) 
			 Deliver the Capability DECC Needs to achieve its goals (Admin) 126,183 133,730 7,547 — — — 
			        
			 F NDA and SLC expenditure (NDPB) 1,353,621 1,456,263 102,642 1,784,00 0 1,601,000 (183,000) 
			 Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (Admin) 41,000 48,000 7,000 — — — 
			 Nuclear Decommissioning Authority 1,312,621 1,408,263 95,642 1,784,00 0 1,601,000 (183,000) 
			        
			 G Coal Authority (NDPB) 30,164 31,335 1,171 3,550 7,700 4,150 
			 Coal Authority (Admin) 4,928 4,442 (486)    
			 Coal Authority 25,236 26,893 1,657 3,550 7,700 4,150 
			        
			 H Committee on Climate Change (NDPB) 3,409 3,588 179 — — — 
			 Committee on Climate Change (Admin) 3,409 3,588 179 — — — 
			 I Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Income (CFER) (835,000) (729,000) 106,000 (57,000) (55,000) 2,000 
			 Nuclear Decommissioning Authority CFER (835,000) (729,000) 106,000 (57,000) (55,000) 2,000 
			        
			 J Electricity Market Reform 0 (4,851) (4,851) — — — 
			 Electricity Market Reform (Admin) 0 (200) (200) — — — 
			 Electricity Market Reform 0 (4,651) (4,651) — — —

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Developing Countries: Equality

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to encourage the EU to further integrate gender equality into its development programmes.

Lynne Featherstone: Preliminary programming is underway for the next financing period for European Union (EU) development assistance, covering 2014-2020. My officials are working closely with counterparts in the Commission, the European External Action Service and other member states to ensure that gender equality is fully integrated in the legal regulations and operational guidelines that form the framework for EU development programmes over that period. We want to see EU development assistance geared towards empowering girls and women, to enable them to have voice, choice and control, as we are doing in our bilateral programmes. The hon. Member for Stone's private Member's Bill, which this Government support, aims at adding further drive and focus to HMG's strong commitment to support for girls and women as part of the UK's international development effort. If passed into law we see this as a model for others, including the EU, to step up action.

Procurement

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of her Department's overall procurement spend for each of the previous three financial years was (a) spent on joint procurement exercises with other departments and (b) shared between different organisations within the same department group.

Lynne Featherstone: The information is as follows:
	(a) During 2010-11, DFID spend on collaborative procurement exercises accounted for 2.6% of total procurement. During 2011-12, spend on collaborative procurement exercises accounted for 1.9% of total procurement. In 2012-13 DFID spend accounted for 3.7%.
	(b) DFID is a standalone department.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Colombia

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on procedures for scrutinising and enforcing Colombian compliance with human rights clauses in the trade agreement between the EU and Colombia.

Hugo Swire: Although no specific conversations have taken place between my the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, and EU counterparts on procedures for scrutinising and enforcing Colombian compliance with human rights clauses in the trade agreement, there are regular discussions between UK, EU and European Commission officials within a number of working groups on this subject.

Ecuador

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received regarding damage caused by US oil company Chevron-Texaco in Ecuador.

Hugo Swire: While environmental contamination is always of concern, this is a matter between Chevron and the Ecuadorean Government and it is for them to decide how to resolve the issue.

Ecuador

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department has discussed the issue of environmental and social damage caused by Chevron-Texaco in Ecuador with his counterparts in the Ecuadorian and US Governments.

Hugo Swire: This is a matter between Chevron and the Ecuadorean Government and it is for them to decide how to resolve the issue. We have not discussed with either the Ecuadorean Government or the US Administration.
	The UK uses international fora to promote the highest environmental and regulatory standard for the extraction of petrochemicals, particularly in environmentally sensitive areas. We encourage state actors and private companies to adhere to these standards.

European Citizen Action Services

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent correspondence his Department has had with the European Citizens Action Service.

David Lidington: I am not aware of any correspondence between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the European Citizens Action Service. However, the FCO does not hold records centrally for correspondence received by all of our offices in the UK and overseas so responding to this question in full would incur disproportionate cost.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Battle of Waterloo: Anniversaries

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proposals she is considering for the formal commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.

Helen Grant: Planning for the commemoration, in 2015, of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo is being carried out by Waterloo 200, an umbrella organisation which is overseeing the anniversary. More information can be found on its website at the following link:
	www.waterloo200.org
	In the June 2013 budget, the Chancellor announced funding circa £1 million will be allocated to restore the site of the battle.
	I was also pleased to announce in October 2013 that at least £10 million is being set aside by the Heritage Lottery Fund over the next four years to fund projects marking some of the UK's most important anniversaries and commemorative events, like the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo. Further online guidance and advice will be available to applicants later this month at:
	www.hlf.org.uk

Football

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to ensure that the police support the Football Association in its efforts to tackle conduct offences amongst spectators at under-18 matches.

Helen Grant: Since 2008, the FA's Respect programme has sought to improve behaviour in youth football on and off the pitch: successes include a 21% reduction in assaults against referees since 2010-11. This year the FA will pilot an additional ‘Respect Disciplinary course’ to challenge some of the negative attitudes displayed by adults in children's football, alongside existing fines and sanctions. Criminal offences committed by any spectator remain a matter for the police.

Procurement

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what weighting her Department's procurement procedures give to (a) the location of a company and its workforce, (b) the extent to which a company has a strong environmental record, (c) whether the company is a social enterprise and (d) other company history prior performance.

Helen Grant: Under current Department procurement policies all relevant contracts are awarded to ensure it obtains the most economically advantageous tender. Within that assessment a range of criteria can be used when deciding upon bids that encompass when required different elements ranging from past performance to environmental credentials, however these will be dependent upon the services being requested.

Procurement

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many and what value of contracts procured by her Department in the last five years was carried out below EU thresholds.

Helen Grant: The information is as follows:
	
		
			  Contracts Total value (£) 
			 2009 124 1,470,977 
			 2010 115 1,197,327 
			 2011 396 2,352,532 
			 2012 392 3,891,616 
			 2013 372 2,634,443

Procurement

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of her Department's contracts have been let to companies with (a) one to five, (b) six to 49, (c) 50 to 250 and (d) more than 250 staff.

Helen Grant: The Department does not hold this information in the detail that the question has asked for. We can say that the core Department and its associated bodies currently have 31.9% of its total procurement spend with Small and Medium-sized Enterprises.

Procurement

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion and value of her Department's contracts have been let (a) under the restricted procedure, (b) by the open procedure, (c) via framework agreements and (d) via a tendering process involving the use of a pre-qualification questionnaire in each of the last three years.

Helen Grant: The information is as follows:
	(a) under the restricted procedure;
	2011: 0
	2012: 0
	2013: 1 @ £150 million
	(b) by the open procedure;
	2011: 1 @ £800,000
	2012: 2 @ £360,000
	2013: 1 @ £125,000
	(c) via framework agreements and;
	2011: 3 @ £8.7 million
	2012: 3 @ £2.74million
	2013: 1 @ £125,000
	(d) via a tendering process involving the use of a pre-qualification questionnaire in each of the last three years.
	2011: 0
	2012: 0
	2013: 1 @ £150 million

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Pensions

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces widows who receive a pension through the 1975 Armed Forces Scheme have voluntarily surrendered their pensions on remarriage or cohabitation since the introduction of the scheme.

Anna Soubry: The number of armed forces widows who receive a pension through the 1975 Armed Forces Scheme who have had their pension suspended on remarriage or cohabitation since 2001, the earliest date for which figures are available, is 987. The provision of information for the period from 1975-2001 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	It has long been the policy of successive Governments that changes or improvement to public sector pension schemes should not be applied retrospectively. This is because legacy pension issues cannot be looked at in isolation; addressing one issue would increase the pressure to address legacy issues in all public sector pension schemes, and this would have huge financial implications.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to rescind the ruling that widows in receipt of an armed forces pension are no longer entitled to receive it should they re-marry.

Anna Soubry: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 9 January 2013, Official Report, column 289W, to the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Katy Clark).

Armed Forces: Redundancy

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces have been made compulsorily redundant within three months of qualifying for a full military pension in the last five years.

Anna Soubry: The number of armed forces personnel made compulsorily redundant within three months of qualifying for a full military pension in the last five years is less than five. Full military pension is payable at age 55 and is different to Immediate Pension or Early Departure Payment which can be drawn prior to age 55.

Army: North West

Dave Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers were recruited from the North West in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Anna Soubry: The total number of Army soldiers recruited within the north-west is shown in the following table. The periods shown reflect recruiting years, which run from April to March.
	
		
			 Recruiting year Regular soldiers Reserve soldiers 
			 2008-09 1,800 460 
			 2009-10 1,890 390 
			 2010-11 1,220 420 
			 2011-12 1,680 490 
			 2012-13 1,360 370 
			 Note: 1. Figures have been rounded to 10. Numbers ending in ‘5’ have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. 2. The north-west is defined as the geographical area covered by the Army's 42 (North West) Brigade, namely Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Cheshire and the Isle of Man.

Army: Transport

Dave Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average transport cost of soldiers returning for a home visit was in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Philip Dunne: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Hercules Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the cost of the repair contract given to Marshall Aviation for the damage the five C130J Hercules suffered in the hail storm in Kandahar on 23 April 2013.

Philip Dunne: Repairs to the five C130J Hercules aircraft are being undertaken via existing contractual arrangements. We estimate the total cost of repair may be up to £10 million. Some £5.9 million of repair work has already been completed by Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group and all five aircraft are now back in service.

Military Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the total cost of Operation Weatherman; and which aircraft were involved.

Philip Dunne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 28 November 2013, Official Report, column 432W.
	Costs associated with the repair and recovery of aircraft to date total some £8.7 million. As some aircraft are still being assessed for repair, the total cost of Operation Weatherman is not yet known.

Military Bases: North West

Dave Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether he plans to move any regimental bases to the North West;
	(2)  if he will make an assessment of the savings of relocating regiments to the North West.

Andrew Murrison: The Army Basing Plan considered a variety of options in order to deliver an appropriate geographic spread of units across the UK, following reorganisation under Army 2020. The work determined that the three main Regular Army locations in the north-west (Chester, Preston and Weeton) should be retained, and that 3 Medical Regiment would move from its current location in Catterick to Fulwood Barracks in Preston. There are currently no additional plans to move any additional regiments to the north-west or to rationalise the estate in the north-west.
	Savings from the Army Basing Plan will be realised, over time, in three areas: firstly, the significant running cost savings associated with the withdrawal from Germany; secondly, the efficiencies gained from moving to a more regionally based Army structure within the UK; and thirdly, the disposal of surplus barracks in and around Canterbury, Shrewsbury, Edinburgh, Stirling, Ripon and Brawdy as announced by the Secretary of State for Defence, in his Army Basing Plan Statement on 5 March 2013, Official Report, columns 845-8.

Peacekeeping Operations

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in which countries British soldiers are engaged in peace-keeping missions; and what the total cost to the public purse has been of each deployment of UK defence personnel in each case.

Mark Francois: British personnel are currently supporting the UN peace-keeping operations in Cyprus (UNFICYP), Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), South Sudan (UNMISS) and the EU mission in Bosnia Herzegovina (EUFOR ALTHEA).
	The UK contribution to the Cyprus mission has an annual Ministry of Defence (MOD) budget of £17.750 million.
	MOD costs, based on capitation rates for financial year (FY) 2014-15, are estimated to be in the region of £310,000 per annum for UK personnel deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and £45,000 per annum for personnel in South Sudan. There is an additional cost to the MOD budget for personnel allowances; however, these vary depending on entitlements, are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The cost to the MOD of supporting the Bosnia Herzegovina mission in FY 2012-13 was around £800,000. This includes manpower costs, real life support costs, pre-deployment training and the operational rehearsal for those personnel involved. Again, these costs do not include personnel allowances which are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

Procurement

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what weighting his Department's procurement procedures give to (a) the location of a company and its workforce, (b) the extent to which a company has a strong environmental record, (c) whether the company is a social enterprise and (d) other company history prior performance.

Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) complies with the EU Treaty principles of transparency, non-discrimination on the grounds of nationality and equal treatment for all suppliers in the EU, under which MOD acquisition teams will consider issues, such as prior performance and environment record, where they are relevant to seeking the best value for money in procurement.

Procurement

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of his Department's contracts have been let to companies with (a) one to five, (b) six to 49, (c) 50 to 250 and (d) more than 250 staff.

Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not distinguish between suppliers to such an extent and only records whether a supplier meets the European Union definition of a Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME), i.e. those businesses with fewer than 250 employees and with a turnover of less than €50 million or balance sheet less than €43 million. No further breakdown is available as such an analysis would not directly support policy making or operations.
	Information on the proportion of contracts the MOD has placed with SMEs is available in the MOD Official Statistics publication 'MOD Contracting with Small and Medium-sized Enterprises' which is available at the following link:
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/publications/finance-and-economics/MOD-contracting-with-small-and-medium-sized-enterprises/financial-year-2012-13/2012-13.pdf
	Table 1 of this publication shows that in financial years 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 the proportion by volume of all new contracts placed by the MOD with SMEs was 36%, 37% and 36% respectively.

Procurement

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion and value of his Department's contracts have been let (a) under the restricted procedure, (b) by the open procedure, (c) via framework agreements and (d) via a tendering process involving the use of a pre-qualification questionnaire in each of the last three years.

Philip Dunne: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Territorial Army

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people have joined the Territorial Army in (a) Ribble Valley constituency, (b) Lancashire and (c) the UK in each of the last five years.

Anna Soubry: holding answer 13 January 2014
	The estimated number of people who have joined the Territorial Army in Lancashire and the UK since April 2012 is shown in the following table. Information for the Ribble Valley constituency is not held in the format requested.
	
		
			 Inflow Financial year (FY) 2012-13 FY 2013-14 to 31 October 13 
			 Lancashire 35 1— 
			 Total UK 4,040 1,540 
			 1 Fewer than 5. Notes: 1. Information prior to April 2012 is not held in the format requested. 2. All figures are provisional. 3. Total UK figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. Subtotal figures for Lancashire have been rounded to the nearest five to limit disclosure and ensure confidentiality. Source: Defence Statistics (Army)

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 11 December 2013, Official Report, column 255W, on Afghanistan, what the number, squadron and rank is of each US Air Force personnel manning UK Reapers on non-UK missions outside the launch and recovery phase.

Anna Soubry: UK Reaper Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) are International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) assets which are tasked by the ISAF Joint Command to support ISAF forces on the ground. This includes supporting both UK forces and UK coalition partners. In all cases, UK Reaper RPAS are operated in line with UK procedures and rules of engagement.
	Outside of the launch and recovery phase, UK Reaper RPAS have always been operated by UK pilots.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 11 December 2013, Official Report, column 256W, on armed forces: deployment, what the Urgent Operational Requirement is for the five additional UK Reaper aircraft.

Philip Dunne: The purchase of five additional reaper remotely piloted aerial systems (RPAS) will increase the UK Reaper RPAS capability in Afghanistan, providing additional armed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support to UK ground forces.
	I am unable to provide further details as to do so would prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what current joint activities of the Unmanned Aerial Systems Programme are carried out under the Technical Co-operation Programme.

Philip Dunne: There are three current joint activities of the Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) Programme carried out under The Technical Cooperation Program (TTCP). These are:
	CAGE (Coalition Attack Guidance Experiment), which is a distributed Synthetic Environment experiment designed to understand coalition UAS command and control;
	MC-MACE (Monitoring and Controlling Multiple Assets in Complex Environment), which is a collaboration to investigate multi-UAS control; and
	Project BRISTOW, which is a trial to investigate counter UAS technologies.
	Through TTCP, the UAS programme shares information, at a Government-to-Government level, on national UAS research activities, and research plans, with a view to sharing lessons and identifying burden-sharing collaboration opportunities. The results of TTCP activities assist each participant in meeting defence requirements, while avoiding unnecessary duplication of effort.

EDUCATION

Children: Day Care

Mary Macleod: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the oral answer of 6 January 2014, Official Report, column 14, on childcare costs, if he will give further details of how the figure of £18 billion was estimated.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education has estimated the cost of a full-time child care offer of 50 hours per week for 50 weeks of the year for all children aged one to four in England would be over £21 billion per annum. The assumptions behind this are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Age Size of cohort1 Hours per year2 Take-up of hours assumption3(percentage) Hourly rate4(£) Estimated cost5(£ billion) 
			 One 665,000 2,500 65 6.00 6.5 
			 Two 665,000 2,500 80 5.03 6.8 
			 Three 665,000 2,500 90 4.00 6.0 
			 Four 225,000 2,500 90 4.00 2.0 
			 Total — — — — 21.3 
			 1 Estimate of size of eligible cohort, not referring to a specific year. The size of the four-year-old cohort is reduced to reflect that a substantial proportion of these children will, be in school reception classes. 2 For the purpose of the estimate, a full-time offer is assumed to be 50 hours per week for 50 weeks of the year. 3 Assumption of potential take-up of the offer. This incorporates an assumption of both numbers of parents who will take up the offer, and of how many hours they will use. 4 Estimate of potential hourly rate, taking account of higher cost of provision for younger ages. Please note that these are intended as high level estimates and should not be taken as indicative of future funding levels. 5 Shown to one decimal place. 
		
	
	Government spending on the existing early education entitlement will rise to circa £3 billion in 2014-15, implying an additional cost of £18 billion per annum.
	In addition to the ongoing costs, there would be both capital and revenue costs associated with building the capacity to deliver an offer of this scale. These costs have not been included in the estimate.

Procurement

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of his Department's overall procurement spend for each of the last three financial years was spent (a) in joint procurement exercises with other departments and (b) shared between different organisations within the same department group.

Elizabeth Truss: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, for the 2012-13 financial year, the Department for Education holds information on the aggregate value of contracts that have been called off from Crown Commercial Service framework agreements, which are negotiated on behalf of all Government Departments. For year ending March 2013 the value of spend through Crown Commercial Service framework agreements was £63.42 million.
	For the financial year 2012-13, savings for the taxpayer achieved by using the Government's bulk-buying power and pooling spend on goods and services used by different Government Departments totalled £1 billion.

Schools: Defibrillators

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 11 November 2013, Official Report, column 635, what recent discussions he has had on the provision of defibrillators in schools.

David Laws: Since November 2013, the Secretary of State for Education, has been considering the British Heart Foundation's very helpful report which my hon. Friend the Member for Brigg and Goole (Andrew Percy), presented to him following an earlier meeting.
	At present, Government policy is that it is a matter for individual schools to decide whether to have a defibrillator and to arrange for suitable training of the school workforce in its use. The hon. Member will also wish to note, however, that we have placed an amendment in the Children and Families Bill to create a new duty on governing bodies of maintained schools (and proprietors of academies) to make arrangements to support pupils at school with medical conditions and to have regard to statutory guidance. The guidance is currently being developed in collaboration with members of the Health Conditions in Schools Alliance, schools and with parents and young people. We intend to consult on the draft guidance later this term.

Secondary Education: Hartlepool

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to improve transition from primary to secondary school by pupils in Hartlepool constituency; and if he will make a statement.

David Laws: The Government recognise that the transition from primary to secondary school is a crucial time for all pupils.
	For the past two years the Government have made up to £50 million of funding from the pupil premium available to secondary schools that choose to deliver a one or two week summer school. The purpose of the programme is to make the transition from year 6 to year 7 more successful for disadvantaged children. Over 58,000 pupils in almost 2,000 secondary schools took part during summer 2013, including 200 pupils in five Hartlepool schools. Schools in Hartlepool received £90,250 of summer school funding in 2012-13 and £106,250 in 2013-14.
	For pupils leaving primary school with weaknesses in literacy and numeracy, we are providing a catch-up premium for pupils in year 7. Schools can use this money to provide extra support to pupils who failed to reach the expected standard in primary school so that they can benefit fully from their secondary education. Hartlepool schools received a total of £95,000 from the catch-up premium in 2012-13. The allocations for 2013-14 are expected to be announced in February 2014.
	It is for individual head teachers, ideally with input from primary school teachers who understand the specific needs of individual pupils, to decide the specific transition arrangements that are appropriate for their school and their individual pupils.

CABINET OFFICE

Armed Forces Covenant

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office for what reason his note of 6 December 2013 on implementing the Military Covenant did not include reference to any activity related to the Ministry of Justice.

Oliver Letwin: My note to colleagues on the Armed Forces Covenant, dated 6 December 2013, did include reference to Ministry of Justice activity. Specifically it talked about steps taken to appoint the first Chief Coroner, whose role includes monitoring investigations into service deaths; and also to ensure that investigations into operational deaths of Service personnel killed overseas can now be carried out in Scotland, reducing additional stress on bereaved families. Responsibility for Coroners and Inquests sits with the Ministry of Justice.
	More information on the work that has been taken forward since the Covenant was enshrined in law—through the Armed Forces Act 2011—can be found in the annual reports on the Covenant, published by the Ministry of Defence. The latest report can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/armed-forces-covenant-annual-report
	and copies of the reports since 2011 are placed in the Library of the House.

Industry

Iain Wright: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the share of (a) manufacturing, (b) financial and (c) non-financial services as a proportion of the total UK economy was in each year since 2009.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Peter Fullerton, dated January 2014
	On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question to ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the share of (a) manufacturing, (b) financial and (c) non-financial services as a proportion of the total UK economy was in each year since 2009. (182925)
	The office for National Statistics publishes breakdowns of UK gross value added in the annual Blue Book publication. The data can be found in the Blue Book time series dataset published on the National Statistics website:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  Agriculture Production Manufacturing Construction Services Financial and Insurance Acts Non Financial Services 
			 2009 0.6 14.8 10.3 6.4 78.2 10.7 67.5 
			 2010 0.7 15.2 10.4 6.3 77.8 9.5 68.3 
			 2011 0.7 15.1 10.3 6.4 77.8 8.5 69.3 
			 2012 0.7 14.6 10.1 6.0 78.7 7.9 70.8 
		
	
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/datasets-and-tables/data-selector.html?table-id=2.3&dataset=bb
	Data has been sourced from the Blue Book 2013 publication.
	Shares have been calculated as the percentage of gross value added an industry group contributes to total UK gross value added.
	Financial sector has been defined as section K (Financial and Insurance Activities) of the UK Standard Industrial Classification 2007.
	Non Financial Services has been defined as all Services minus section K.

Unemployment: Ethnic Groups

Stephen Timms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate he has made of the rate of unemployment among young men of (a) Afro-Caribbean, (b) Bangladeshi and Pakistani, (c) other Asian and (d) other ethnic minority origin.

Nick Hurd: holding answer 14 January 2014
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Caron Walker, dated January 2014
	On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office, the rate of unemployment among young men of (a) Afro-Caribbean, (b) Bangladeshi and Pakistani, (c) other Asian and (d) other ethnic minority origin. 182716
	Information on unemployment by ethnic group is collected by the Annual Population Survey (APS). The available information is provided in the attached table for the period July 2012 to June 2013.
	
		
			 Unemployment among 16 to 24 year old men, by ethnic group. Twelve month period July 2012 to June 2013. United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			  Unemployment rate1 (percentage) 
			 All Ethnicities 23 
			 Black/African/Caribbean/Black British 47 
			 Pakistani and Bangladeshi 42 
			 Any other Asian background2 23 
			 Other ethnic minority group 34 
		
	
	
		
			 1 The number unemployed as a proportion of the economically active population in each group. 2 Includes Indian, Chinese and other Asian groups. Source: Annual Population Survey (APS)

WORK AND PENSIONS

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what savings he expects to realise as a result of the implementation of the under-occupancy penalty in each year to 2015-16.

Esther McVey: The intention of this policy is to ensure fairer use of housing stock.
	The estimated savings in each year for the removal of the spare room subsidy measure are £490 million in 2013-14, £525 million in 2014-15 and £560 million in 2015-16.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much expenditure his Department has allocated to discretionary housing payments for tenants in the social housing sector in each year to 2015-16.

Steve Webb: The Department does not hold data that distinguish between discretionary housing payments (DHP) allocated to tenants in the private sector and those in the social sector. The total Government contribution in DHPs to local authorities from 2001-02 to 2014-15 is detailed in the table.
	DHPs are provided for local authorities to use according to their own priorities and policies. From 2011-12 the DHP amount made available has been increased to support people through the reforms to housing benefit across the private and social sectors.
	
		
			 Year of DHP allocation per annum Amount of Government contribution (£ million) 
			 2001-02 115 
			 2002-03 20 
			 2003-04 20 
			 2004-05 20 
			 2005-06 20 
			 2006-07 20 
			 2007-08 20 
			 2008-09 20 
			 2009-10 20 
			 2010-11 20 
			 2011-12 30 
			 2012-13 60 
			 2013-14 180 
			 2014-15 165 
			 1 The DHP scheme was introduced from July 2001, and so the funding for that year was threequarter of £20 million. i.e. £15 million in total. 
		
	
	As announced in the autumn statement 5 December 2013, Official Report, columns 1101-1113, the Government will increase DHPs by £40 million in 2015-16. This will ensure that support available to people affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy is maintained and local authorities have the confidence to offer long term awards where appropriate.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the total amount of housing benefit wrongly withheld from people under the removal of the spare room subsidy whose eligible rent should have been determined in accordance with regulations 12 and 13 as set out in paragraph 5 of Schedule 3 to the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2006; and what estimate he has made of the average loss for each household affected.

Esther McVey: The Department does not hold all the detailed information needed to make a precise estimate of the numbers affected or the average loss this represents for each household.
	It is estimated the numbers affected are likely to be fewer than 5,000 nationally.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to ensure that people who have lost housing benefit under the removal of the spare room subsidy but should not have done so are informed of their actual housing benefit entitlement; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to ensure refunds are paid to people who have lost housing benefit under the removal of the spare room subsidy but should not have done so, due to their eligible rent not having been determined in accordance with regulations 12 and 13 as set in paragraph 5 of Schedule 3 to the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2006.

Esther McVey: It is for local authorities to ensure that people have their correct housing benefit entitlement.
	A bulletin has been issued advising local authorities of the anomaly which will mean that some social sector tenants are not subject to the removal of the spare room subsidy until the legislation is amended.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people who have lost housing benefit under the removal of the spare room subsidy but should not have done so, due to their eligible rent not having been determined in accordance with regulations 12 and 13 as set in paragraph 5 of Schedule 3 to the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2006; and of those, how many have left their homes.

Esther McVey: The Department does not hold all the detailed information needed to make a precise estimate of the numbers affected. On the information currently available, we estimate the numbers affected are likely to be fewer than 5,000.
	Information is not available regarding those who may be affected and who have moved house.

Jobcentre Plus: Torbay

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time vacancies were advertised in Jobcentre Plus in Torbay local authority area in each quarter in each of the last three years.

Esther McVey: The information is as follows:
	
		
			 Total number of full-time and part-time jobs within Torbay local authority 
			  Full-time jobs Part-time jobs 
			 October to December 2013 1,744 506 
			 July to September 2013 1,984 601 
			 April to June 2013 1,264 464 
			 January to March 2013 1,234 467 
			 November to December 20121 605 314 
			 October to November 20121 1,135 577 
			 July to September 2012 1,494 1,237 
			 April to June 2012 1,634 1,264 
			 January to March 2012 1,157 1,071 
			 October to December 2011 1,217 840 
			 July to September 2011 1,319 968 
			 April to June 2011 1,471 1,167 
			 January to March 2011 1,239 763 
			 1 Sources-NOMIS from January 2011 and Universal Jobmatch from November 2012 onwards. 
		
	
	Administrative data on the number of vacancies held locally by Jobcentre Plus was published until the end of last year and can be accessed by following this link:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/query/construct/summary.asp?mode=construct&version=0&dataset=89
	and selecting the 'notified' vacancies variable and the relevant geography and time period.
	Universal Jobmatch has replaced the previous Jobcentre Plus system of taking vacancies. Information on vacancies reported through the new service, including notified vacancies at local authority level, is available from the Universal Jobmatch management information tool
	https://jobsearch.direct.gov.uk/Reports/Reports.aspx
	and selecting number of new jobs and the relevant geography and time period.

Procurement

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of his Department's overall procurement spend for each of the last three financial years was spent (a) in joint procurement exercises with other Departments and (b) shared between different organisations within the same Department group.

Michael Penning: In the timeframe for this question, the Department has let many of its contracts via cross-Government arrangements put in place by the Crown Commercial Service (CCS), formerly the Government Procurement Service. Thus the need to enter into collaborative procurement exercises with other Government Departments has been minimal. Going forward, the restructuring of the DWP's commercial function where some of our contract teams migrate directly to CCS will mean this trend will continue and is likely to increase. Those categories that remain under DWP control may be sufficiently distinct to this Department to make the need for collaboration with other Departments less likely.
	Of the contracts the Department for Work and Pensions let during the period 1 April 2010 to 13 January 2014:
	(a) four were let via collaborative exercises with other Government Departments. The proportion of the overall contracts value was less than 1%.
	(b) 48 contracts included access for organisations within the Department for Work and Pensions group. The proportion of the overall contracts value was 52%.

Universal Credit

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make an assessment of the effect on the projected employment rate of female workers (a) with children and (b) without children of freezing the work allowance in universal credit in each of the next three financial years.

Esther McVey: Under universal credit, the amount someone can earn in work before their benefits are reduced is much more generous than under the existing system, where people can be effectively penalised for moving into work. The changes included in the autumn statement 5 December 2013, Official Report, columns 1101-1113, will help ensure that overall benefit expenditure is sustainable, while still maintaining a better targeted and more generous system under universal credit.
	Universal credit will encourage claimants to move into employment. It is estimated that up to 300,000 individuals will move into work as a result of universal credit, through improved financial incentives, increased simplicity of the system and increased conditionality.

Universal Credit

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make an assessment of the impact of the freezing of the work allowance within universal credit in each of the next three financial years, allowing for inflation, on the annual real incomes of people in each income decile and classed as (a) lone parents with children, (b) single people in work, (c) couple households with children where one adult is in full-time work, (d) couple households with children where one adult is in full-time work and the other in part-time work, (e) couple households with children where both adults are in full-time work, (f) couple households with two children where both adults are in part-time work, (g) couple households without children where one adult is in full-time work, (h) couple households without children where one adult is in full-time work and the other is in part-time work, (i) couple households without children where both adults are in full-time work and (j) couple households without children where both adults are in part-time work.

Esther McVey: Once fully rolled out, 3 million households gain on average £174 per month (in 2012-13 prices) from universal credit after taking account of the work allowance freeze. Transitional protection will ensure that there will be no cash losers under universal credit, providing their circumstances remain the same.
	Impacts of the groups requested by income decile are not available due to sample size restrictions, however the following table shows the numbers of gainers by family type and employment status.
	
		
			 Million 
			  Single no children Single with children Couples no children Couples with children Total 
			 One person in work 0.4 0.5 0.2 0.8 22.0 
			 Out of work 0.5 0.1 0.1 0.1 20.7 
			 Dual earners n/a n/a 1- 0.3 0.3 
			 Total 20.9 20.7 0.3 1.2 23.0 
			 1 Sample size is too small. 2 Totals may not sum due to rounding.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many software developers his Department is currently seeking to recruit for its digital service in order to build the universal credit end state system and other software projects; and what contingency plan is in place in case it is unable to fill them all.

Esther McVey: We are confident that the necessary skills and expertise will continue to be in place to deliver the UC online service. It has always been the intention that the Department would complete the work to develop the UC digital service, building on the work of GDS. That is why we have already strengthened in house expertise including appointing former Vodafone director of global online Kevin Cunnington to lead the development of our digital service and will be recruiting around 50 IT specialists. This has always been in the plan for completing the digital service and therefore there are no additional costs for recruitment.

Work Programme

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost to his Department of the Work Programme has been from June 2011 to date.

Esther McVey: The total paid to Work Programme Providers in the UK is £1,047 million from the start of the programme through to 30 September 2013, the period covered by the December 2013 Statistical Release.
	The majority of payments to Work Programme Providers are 'payment by results' for job outcomes and job sustainments.

Work Programme

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost of the Work Programme payments for (a) attachment, (b) job outcomes and (c) job sustainment has been from June 2011 to date.

Esther McVey: The majority of payments to Work Programme Providers are 'payment by results' for job outcomes and job sustainments.
	The total paid to Work Programme Providers in the UK from the start of the programme through to 30 September 2013, the period covered by the December 2013 Statistical Release, is £1,047 million, made up of:
	£504 million attachment payments
	£242 million job outcome payments
	£301 million job sustainment payments.

Work Programme

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of savings in out-of-work benefits through the intervention of the Work Programme to date;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of people in work who would be claiming out-of-work benefits without the intervention of the Work Programme.

Esther McVey: We cannot estimate at this stage what the impact of the Work programme has been on benefit receipt or employment. Analyses of previous labour market programmes have relied on matching participants to non-participants within the same time period. This approach would be less effective for a programme which rolled out nationally within a short period in June 2011.
	The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has commissioned a consortium led by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) to undertake an independent evaluation of the Work programme. Part of the consortium is providing methodological advice and peer review to DWP analysts working on an in house impact assessment of the programme.
	All reports from the evaluation will be published on the DWP website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/research-reports

Work Programme

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many referrals to the Work Programme there were from June 2011 to September 2013; and what the job outcomes are for people classed as (a) JSA 18 to 24, (b) JSA 25+ and (c) JSA early entrant.

Esther McVey: The information requested on the number of Work Programme referrals and Job Outcomes for the period June 2011 to September 2013 can be found in the following table:
	Work Programme referrals and Job Outcomes caseload by payment type: June 2011 to September 2013
	
		
			 Payment type Work programme referrals Work programme job outcomes 
			 Total 1,407,120 207,950 
			 JSA 18 to 24 255,560 50,190 
			 JSA 25 and over 597,390 94,230 
			 JSA Early entrants 271,640 51,490 
			 JSA Ex-Incapacity benefit 21,640 1,760 
			 ESA Volunteers 52,620 1,980 
			 New ESA claimants 131,000 6,290 
			 ESA Ex-Incapacity benefit 39,670 480 
			 IB/IS Volunteers 2,720 410 
			 JSA Prison leavers 34,880 1,110

HEALTH

Ambulance Services: North West

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions his Department has had with the North West Ambulance Service about the effective prioritisation of emergency calls.

Jane Ellison: No recent discussions have been held between the Department and the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

Clinical Commissioning Groups: Bolton

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding per head of population has been allocated to the Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group for 2013-14.

Daniel Poulter: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 8 January 2014, Official Report, column 264W.

General Practitioners: Retirement

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GPs have retired in each of the last 10 years.

Daniel Poulter: The requested information is not collected centrally.

Hospital Beds

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from NHS England on bed shortages over the winter period.

Jane Ellison: The Department has had no representations from NHS England on bed shortages over the winter period.
	NHS England publishes figures on bed availability and bed occupancy on a quarterly basis.
	The bed occupancy rate (for all beds open overnight) has remained relatively stable, rising in the winter months as we would expect, but remaining between 84 and 88% since 2000.

Legal Opinion

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which legal firms his Department instructed in (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10; and what the cost to the public purse was of those instructions.

Daniel Poulter: The following table shows expenditure that the Department made in 2008-09 and 2009-10 to external organisations that have provided legal services to the Department.
	
		
			 £ 
			 Supplier name 2008-09 2009-10 
			 Dac Beachcroft LLP 2,276 274 
			 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP 12,304 — 
			 Macfarlane Special Payments Trust — 32,735 
			 Mills and Reeve LLP — 22,211 
			 Skipton Fund Ltd — 2,462 
			 The Eileen Trust — 7,405 
			 The Macfarlane Trust — 37,280 
			 Total 14,580 102,367 
		
	
	The expenditure in 2009-10 to the organisations MacFarlane Special Payments Trust, Skipton Fund Ltd, the Eileen Trust and the MacFarlane Trust were for services provided by Wilson Solicitors.

Medical Records: Databases

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason it was decided not to include an opt-out form in the ‘Better information means better care’ leaflet.

Daniel Poulter: When developing plans for the 'Better information means better care' leaflet, NHS England thought that it was more appropriate for general practitioners locally, as data controllers for their practice, to determine how best to manage the opt-out arrangements for their patients.

Medical Records: Databases

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he will take to ensure that patient data made available by the care.data programme is not used for private profit;
	(2)  whether researchers using patient information made available under the care.data programme will be able to pay an extra charge to receive that data with patient-identifying information.

Daniel Poulter: Any organisation or researchers can make an application to the Health and Social Care Information Centre for data and each application is considered individually.
	An organisation or researcher making an application would only be allowed access to confidential information if they had a legal basis to do so including:
	where they had already obtained explicit patient consent; or
	had been granted legal approval under Regulation 5 of the Health Service (Control of Patient Information) Regulations 2002 (commonly known as ‘section 251 support’);
	or
	legally required to do so, for example, in a public health emergency such as an epidemic.
	While the Health and Social Care Information Centre charges a fee to cover its costs, it does not make profits from providing data to other organisations, nor does it subsidise any applicants to receive it.

Medical Records: Databases

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's policy is on providing compensation to people whose medical confidentiality has been breached by (a) the care.data programme and (b) his Department's other programmes.

Daniel Poulter: The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) has been established to be the secure environment in which personal confidential data is held and analysed. The HSCIC is legally bound to maintain confidentially and to ensure confidential information is held securely. This would include data collected as part of the care.data programme or other programmes managed by the HSCIC on behalf of the Department.
	Breach of confidentiality by the HSCIC would attract a fine of up to £500,000 from the Data Protection regulator, the Information Commissioner and leave it open for an individual to seek redress through the civil courts.

Medical Records: Databases

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total estimated cost is of (a) the IT systems for the care.data programme and (b) the public awareness campaign for care.data.

Daniel Poulter: NHS England and the Health and Social Care Information Centre are currently in the process of scoping the care.data programme and associated funding requirements.
	The cost of the NHS England leaflet drop to households in England is approximately £1.2 million.

Medical Records: Databases

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of hours of GPs' time that will be spent talking to patients about care.data in 2014; what the total cost of such time will be; and what potential effect such time spent will have on patient waiting time.

Daniel Poulter: General practitioners (GPs), as data controllers, have legal responsibilities under the Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998 for ensuring that patients are aware of how their information is used and shared. This is not a new requirement and does not just relate to care.data. The leaflet is not just about care.data but all uses of data for wider purposes. Making sure patients understand about how their information is used and the benefits it can bring is something we should all support.
	The Information Commissioner’s view is that cost of compliance is an Information Governance overhead for a GP practice, in the same way that paying an accountant is a tax/finance overhead. We are supporting GP practices in a number of ways for example, there is a patient information line which patients can call if they have questions, which will ease the burden on GP practices.

NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 6 January 2014, Official Report, column 146W, on NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement, what the (a) name was of each consultant used and (b) value was of each contract for consultancy for the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement in the most recent year for which data is obtainable.

Daniel Poulter: The NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement closed on 31 March 2013. NHS England has advised that without incurring disproportionate cost, it cannot confirm whether this information is still available. However, it has been able to identify that total consultancy spend by the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement in 2012-13 was £223,968 and these costs were predominantly for closing down the organisation. The spend by category is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Category of spend Cost (£) 
			 Finance 38,250 
			 IT 19,193 
			 Strategy 71,489 
			 Legal 58,306 
			 Marketing 36,730 
			 Total 223,968

NHS: Management Consultants

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 6 January 2014, Official Report, column 148W, on NHS: management consultants, where records and details of consultancy contracts are held.

Daniel Poulter: NHS London strategic health authority (SHA) was abolished on 1 April 2013. Contracts which continued after this date were transferred to the organisation which became responsible for performing the function in question. Records pertaining to non-clinical contracts which terminated before 1 April 2013 are likely to have transferred to the ownership of the Department, along with other corporate records of the SHA.
	The archived corporate records of NHS London exist as over 1 million hard copy and electronic records. These are currently stored in off-site paper archives and on archived server software respectively, which are currently held by NHS England on behalf of the Department.

Out-patients: Attendance

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital appointments have been cancelled in the last five years.

Jane Ellison: Between 2008-09 and 2012-13 50,900,745 hospital appointments have been cancelled. Of these 25,434,899 were cancelled by patients and 25,465,846 cancelled by hospitals.
	The total number of attendances was 346,363,303, and cancelled appointments represent 14.7% of the total.

Peters & Peters

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 6 January 2014, Official Report, column 149W, on Peters & Peters, in which specific cases Peters & Peters were instructed in 2008, 2009 and 2010; and in respect of the ongoing case from 2005, how much Peters & Peters have been paid for the case.

Daniel Poulter: Information on dates of instruction and claims is in the following tables.
	
		
			 Cases completed 
			 Instructions began Claim 
			 Prior to 2005 HC02C03820—Secretary of State for Health and Others v. Norton Healthcare and Others 
			  HC03C00540—Secretary of State for Health and Others v. Norton Healthcare and Others 
			  HC03C04404—Secretary of State for Health and Others v. Norton Healthcare and Others 
			  HC04C02039—Secretary of State for Health and Others v. Generics UK Limited and Ranbaxy (UK) Limited 
			  HC04C02154—Secretary of State for Health and Others v. Generics UK Limited and Ranbaxy UK Limited 
			  HC04C02528—Secretary of State for Health and Others v. Generics UK Limited and Others 
			  HC04C02785—Secretary of State for Health and Others v. Norton Healthcare and Others 
		
	
	
		
			  HC05C00102—Secretary of State for Health and Others v. Generics UK Limited 
			  HC06C02033—Secretary of State for Health and Others v. Regent-GM Laboratories and Others 
			  HC09C01569—Secretary of State for Health and Others v. OPD Cartons Limited and Kent Pharmaceuticals (Holdings) Limited 
			   
			 2010 HC11C00800—Secretary of State for Health v. Ken Anderson 
		
	
	
		
			 Cases ongoing 
			 Instructions began Claim 
			 2008 HC11C00319—Secretary of State for Health and Others v. Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC and Others 
			 2009 HC11C01423—Secretary of State for Health and Others v. Servier Laboratories Limited 
		
	
	In respect of the case which began prior to 2005, costs billed by Peters & Peters were £5,029,287.53.
	Copies of claim forms and statements of case may be requested from court records. In relation to cases in which Peters & Peters have acted for the Secretary of State for Health, these can be requested from the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice in London.

Procurement

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what weighting his Department's procurement procedures give to (a) the location of a company and its workforce, (b) the extent to which a company has a strong environmental record, (c) whether the company is a social enterprise and (d) other company history prior performance.

Daniel Poulter: The Department undertakes all procurement activity in line with the principles of equal treatment, transparency and non-discrimination as well as Government best practice and policy.
	The Department does not set standard weightings in its procurement procedures, for location of the company and its work force, the extent to which a company has a strong environmental record and whether the company is a social enterprise. Weightings may be given for these areas dependent upon the individual procurement and requirement.
	In line with Cabinet Office policy (Procurement Policy Note 9/12), the Department will take into consideration the performance of suppliers.

Procurement

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion and value of his Department's contracts have been let (a) under the restricted procedure, (b) by the open procedure, (c) via framework agreements and (d) via a tendering process involving the use of a pre-qualification questionnaire in each of the last three years.

Daniel Poulter: A search to identify the proportion and value of the Department's contracts that have been let under restricted procedure, by the open procedure, via framework agreements and via a tendering process involving the use of pre-qualification questionnaire would incur a disproportionate cost for the Department. The information of value of contracts let and procurement route used is currently recorded separately and cannot be provided without further detailed analysis.
	The Department's default policy position is to make full use of existing Government-wide contracts and framework agreements for the procurement of common goods and services. The Department eliminated the routine use of pre-qualification questionnaires in 2012, in line with Government policy.

Procurement

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of his Department's overall procurement spend for each of the last three financial years was spent (a) in joint procurement exercises with other departments and (b) shared between different organisations within the same department group.

Daniel Poulter: A search to identify the proportional spending on joint procurement exercises both with other Departments, and across the Department and its non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) would incur a disproportionate cost for the Department. This level of information is not recorded separately without further analysis of financial information across the Department and NDPBs.
	The Department and its NDPBs fully participate in a number of Government-wide joint procurement exercises, which are led by the Crown Commercial Service (Government Procurement Services). This work supports the development of frameworks and contracts for use by Government Departments relating to common goods and services.

TREASURY

Bank Services: EU Nationals

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what steps he proposes to take in light of the recent vote on draft EU legislation on basic bank accounts; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with the EU on basic bank accounts.

Sajid Javid: The Government are committed to improving access to financial services for individuals.
	The European Commission published the proposed Payment Account Directive in May 2013. The Government is supportive of the aim of the proposed Directive. Treasury Ministers and officials have and will continue to work closely with counterparts in Europe to ensure the right outcome for the UK consumer and industry.
	There are no plans to make a further statement.

Bank Services: EU Nationals

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people from EU countries outside of the UK who have opened basic bank accounts in the UK.

Sajid Javid: The Government have made no estimate of the number of people from EU countries outside of the UK who have opened a basic bank account in the UK.

Child Tax Credit: Essex

Simon Burns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many new applications for child tax credits were made in (a) Essex and (b) Chelmsford constituency in the last 12 months.

Nicky Morgan: Between January 2013 and December 2013, the number of new tax credits claims that were eligible for child tax credits was an estimated 9,200 in the county of Essex and 500 in the Chelmsford constituency.

Debts

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of current levels of household debt.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated January 2014
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking, what estimate has been made of current levels of household debt. (182109)
	The office for National Statistics only publishes details of the combined financial liabilities of households and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH), rather than households alone. The most recent analyses can be found in table A64 of the United Kingdom Economic Accounts (UKEA) 2013 Q3, published on 20 December 2013. The UKEA is available on the National Statistics web site at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/naa1-rd/united-kingdom-economic-accounts/q3-2013/index.html
	This shows that, for households and NPISH combined, the total financial liabilities in 2013 Q3 were £1549.5 billion.

Mortgages

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the practice of mortgage lenders declining mortgage applications from people who in the previous six years had taken out a payday loan.

Sajid Javid: In making mortgage lending decisions, lenders must follow the appropriate regulatory and legislative requirements. Beyond this, decisions about who they lend to and on what terms are a commercial matter, including how they use information about existing or previous credit commitments.
	Credit risk models and approaches vary between lenders, so while a history of payday loans may prevent a borrower taking out a loan with one lender, others may take a different approach.

Secondment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many secondees from (a) trades unions and (b) the voluntary sector have worked in his Department since 2010.

Nicky Morgan: Since 2010 there have been (a) no secondees from the trades unions working in the Treasury and (b) no secondees from the voluntary sector working in the Treasury.

Social Security Benefits

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in (a) Stafford and (b) the UK were claiming each of the major in-work benefits in each of the last 10 years; and what the cost of such benefits was to the Exchequer.

Nicky Morgan: The information is as follows:
	HMRC-tax credits
	The finalised annual award child and working tax credits statistics for 2011-12 are available here:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/fin-main-stats/cwtc-awards.xls
	Table 1.1 of this publication provides a breakdown of families and tax credit entitlement at the UK level, split by family structure and working status, for the latest year 2011-12 back to 2003-04, which was the first year of the current tax credit system.
	This table shows the amount of working tax credit entitlement linked to in-work families. A breakdown of the Exchequer cost is not available.
	The finalised annual award child and working tax credits statistics for 2011-12 split by geography are available here:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/fin-geog-stats/geo-analyses.xls
	Table 2 of this publication provides a breakdown of families and average annual tax credit entitlement at the local authority level, including Stafford. A breakdown of working tax credit and child tax credit entitlement is not available. Older geographic publications are available here:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121106034103/http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/final-award-geog.htm
	DWP-benefits
	The information for Great Britain is in the following table. The information relating to Northern Ireland is a matter for the Northern Ireland Office.
	
		
			 Expenditure on those in work by benefit, £ million, nominal terms 
			  2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Great Britain           
			 Housing benefit - - - - - 1,667.4 2,362.4 3,215.3 3,908.4 4,410.1 
			 Council tax benefit - - - - - 210.5 311.5 437.4 510.9 564.4 
		
	
	
		
			 Statutory maternity pay 1,035.0 1,291.2 1,183.7 1,317.6 1,629.7 1,954.0 2,025.6 2,141.2 2,199.7 2,303.5 
			 Statutory sick pay 40.1 43.0 41.0 45.0 43.5 46.2 46.8 44.6 47.0 49.9 
			            
			 Stafford           
			 Housing benefit - - - - - 0.8 1.4 2.5 3.0 3.8 
			 Council tax benefit - - - - - 0.1 0.2 0.5 0.5 0.7 
		
	
	Housing and council tax benefits are available to those who are in-work or out of work. The figures provided here are for in-work only.
	Expenditure on those in work for housing benefit and council tax benefit is not available prior to 2008-09 and information is not available at local authority level for statutory maternity pay or statutory sick pay.
	The information for housing benefit and council tax benefit excludes any passported recipients and is based on a combination of quarterly statistical data and local authority subsidy returns, as outturn expenditure data are not available at this level. For 2008-09, November 2008 data have been used as this is the most representative dataset available during this period.
	The information for statutory maternity pay and statutory sick pay is based on provisional employer returns to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and is expenditure funded by the Department for Work and Pensions, some additional expenditure will be funded by the employer. These estimates may vary from the estimates published by the Government Actuary's Department (GAD) in their annual uprating report.
	Figures are consistent with autumn 2013 expenditure forecasts published at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2013
	Housing benefit case load data by local authority 2008 to 2013 can be found at:
	https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk
	Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:
	https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm
	Housing benefit and council tax benefit case load data from 2010 to February 2013 can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/about/statistics
	Housing benefit and council tax benefit case load data prior to 2010 can be found at:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130107093842/http:/statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/hb_ctb/index.php?page=hbctb_arc
	For Northern Ireland statistics go to:
	http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research/benefit_publications.htm

Tax Allowances

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effect of tax relief on (a) pension contributions on the overall level of contributions and (b) income and capital gains from ISAs on the overall level of non-pension savings;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect on reductions of the (a) lifetime allowance and (b) annual allowance for pension contributions on the overall level of pension saving.

David Gauke: Tax relief on pension contributions is one of the primary means by which the Government encourage people to save for their retirement. In 2011-12 an estimated £34.9 billion of tax relief was provided on contributions to approved pensions schemes:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/pension-stats/pen6.pdf
	Tax relief on income and capital gains from ISAs is forecast to be £2.85 billion in 2013-14 as shown in Table 1.5:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/expenditures/table1-5.pdf
	The effectiveness of these reliefs is kept under ongoing review as part of the normal policy process.
	The reductions in the lifetime allowance and the annual allowance affect only the wealthiest pension savers; 99% of pension savers make annual contributions worth less than the annual allowance of £40,000, while 98% of those approaching retirement have pension pots valued at less than the lifetime allowance of £1,250,000.
	The Tax information and Impact Note produced for Budget 2013 estimated that 140,000 individuals would be affected by the restriction of the annual allowance to £40,000. Furthermore, 360,000 people were expected to be affected by the new lower lifetime allowance of £1,250,000. Some of these individuals are expected to reduce their pension contributions, but the vast majority of pension savers will be unaffected. Further details may also be found in this document:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2013/tiin-1046.pdf

Taxation

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate HM Revenue and Customs has made of the number of limited companies trading that were neither VAT-registered nor had a PAYE scheme in each year from 2007-08 to 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Taxation: Bingo

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if she will bring forward legislative proposals to decrease the tax on bingo to bring it in line with taxation rates applying to other gambling industries.

David Gauke: The Government keep all taxes, including bingo duty, under review.

Taxation: Electronic Commerce

John Spellar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department is taking to ensure that online purchases are taxed at the appropriate rate.

David Gauke: VAT on goods is generally payable at the rate of the location of the customer, and therefore applies equally to goods bought from UK companies and goods bought from abroad, and to goods bought from high street retailers and those bought online.
	Under current EU rules supplies of digital or electronic services to non-business consumers are currently taxed where the supplier belongs. This means that if a company locates in a low VAT jurisdiction they will account for VAT at the rate in that country. Member states agreed to change the taxation of intra-EU business-to-consumer (B2C) supplies of telecommunications, broadcasting and e-services with effect from January 2015. From that date VAT on these services will be payable in the member state in which the customer is located rather than where the supplier is located.
	This will prevent businesses from moving their operations to other member states to take advantage of lower VAT rates and will protect £5 billion in revenue each year.

UK Power Networks

Paul Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether HM Revenue and Customs is investigating the off-shoring to the Cayman Islands of profits by UK Power Networks.

David Gauke: HMRC cannot disclose to me information about an identifiable taxpayer. HMRC has a statutory duty to maintain taxpayer confidentiality and may not disclose information unless the limited and controlled circumstances set out in the statute creating HMRC apply.
	HMRC ensures all taxpayers pay the right tax due under UK law. HMRC applies the UK tax rules, which are based on a commonly agreed set of international standards, to determine the amount of a multinational's profits that are taxed here. HMRC's experienced tax professionals have in-depth knowledge of multinationals' business models and appetite for risk in tax planning.

JUSTICE

Administration of Justice Act 1982

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to bring into effect sections 23-25 of the Administration of Justice Act 1982.

Shailesh Vara: The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, has no plans to bring sections 23-25 of the Administration of Justice Act 1982 (registration of wills) into force at present. Persons in England and Wales wishing to deposit a will for safekeeping may do so with the Probate Service on payment of the appropriate fee (currently £20). Various private sector bodies, including many legal practitioners, also offer safekeeping services.

Churches: Liability

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2013, Official Report, columns 949-50W, on chancel liability, what recent assessment he has made of the effects of chancel liability.

Shailesh Vara: The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, is keeping the issues relating to chancel repair liability under review but has not made an assessment of its effect recently.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Consumers: Protection

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will bring forward legislative proposals to extend credit protection as found in section 54 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 to goods bought through a hire purchase agreement which have not been received.

Sajid Javid: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	Section 54 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 makes provision in respect of conduct of business regulations. It provides that, without prejudice to the generality of section 26 of that Act, regulations under that section may include provisions further regulating the seeking of business by a person to whom the regulations apply who carries on a consumer credit business or a consumer hire business.
	Sections 26 and 54 are revoked, with effect from 1 April 2014, by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (No.2) Order 2013 along with various other provisions of the Consumer Credit Act as part of the transfer of the regulation of consumer credit from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). From that date, the legislative framework governing consumer credit will be constituted by the Consumer Credit Act 1974, the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and FCA rules made under that Act. The Treasury has no plans to bring forward further legislative proposals.

Easter

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will now bring into force the provisions contained in the Easter Act 1928.

Jennifer Willott: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, does not intend to bring the Easter Act 1928 into force in the near future. The Easter Act 1928 would set the date for Easter to fall on a Sunday between 9 and 15 April each year. The Easter Act 1928 remains on the Statute Book, but has not been brought into force. To do so would require an Order in Council, with the approval of both Houses of Parliament. The Act also requires that, before the Order is made, “regard shall be had to any opinion officially expressed by any Church or other Christian Body.” There is no indication that the Churches are keen to move to a date for Easter fixed in accordance with the Easter Act 1928.

Lord Heseltine Review

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what progress his Department has made in implementing the recommendations accepted in its response to the Heseltine Review, “No Stone Unturned”, published in March 2013.

Michael Fallon: The Government published its response to “No Stone Unturned” by my right hon. and noble Friend Lord Heseltine in March 2013. That response accepted in full or in part 81 out of Lord Heseltine's 89 recommendations.
	The Government continue to take forward these recommendations to ensure that we rise to the challenge to significantly advance the process of decentralisation, unleash the potential of local economies, strengthen partnerships with industry and foster economic growth.
	Central to the Government's response was the creation of the Local Growth Fund (LGF). The LGF amounts to £2 billion in 2015/16 and this includes funding from transport, skills and housing. There is an ongoing commitment that the LGF will be at least £2 billion per year for the life of the next Parliament.
	As set out in the spending round, the LGF will bring the resources under the strategic influence of local economic partnerships (LEPs) to at least £20 billion in the years to 2021. The Government will determine the future composition of the LGF at the next spending review.
	Funds will be allocated from the LGF as part of growth deals, which are being negotiated with every LEP. As part of this, LEPs were asked to develop multi year strategic economic plans for their area. The 39 LEPs shared their first drafts with Government in December 2013. LEPs have been given extra resource (up to £250,000 per LEP) to develop these strategies. BIS officials are working with LEPs on the development of the plans.

Procurement

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of his Department's overall procurement spend for each of the last three financial years was spent (a) in joint procurement exercises with other departments and (b) shared between different organisations within the same department group.

Jennifer Willott: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) does not record this information so therefore the answer cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost. However, BIS does make use of cross-Government framework agreements that are procured via the Government Procurement Service and which are open to all Government Departments. BIS also strongly encourages Partner Organisations to make use of cross- Government Procurement frameworks.

Regulation

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which Government Departments have not yet met their commitments to reduce overall regulation under the one-in, two-out principle.

Michael Fallon: Departments are committed to delivering one-in, two-out by the end of the Parliament, based on regulation and deregulation brought in since January 2013. The latest information on Departments' performance to date can be found in the Seventh Statement for New Regulation:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/266133/bis-13-p96b-seventh-statement-of-new-regulation.pdf

TNT

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make an assessment of the potential effects of the agreement between PostNL and LDC to extend TNT's end-to-end delivery service on Royal Mail.

Jennifer Willott: Under the Postal Services Act 2011, regulatory responsibility for the postal services sector was transferred from Postcomm to Ofcom as an independent regulator with the primary duty of securing the universal postal service in the United Kingdom.
	It is Ofcom's responsibility to monitor any impacts of market competition on the provision of the universal service in the UK. Parliament has given Ofcom the powers to intervene if the provision of the universal service is ever at serious risk from the effects of market competition.
	Ofcom has an effective and ongoing monitoring regime to track the financial sustainability of the universal postal service. In March 2013 Ofcom published guidance on its approach to assessing the impact of end-to-end competition in the postal sector. In its November 2013 annual monitoring report Ofcom concluded that it would not be necessary to impose any additional regulatory conditions on end-to-end operators to secure the ongoing provision of a universal postal service at this point in time.
	If Ofcom's ongoing monitoring regime does not prompt the need for any earlier assessment, it will carry out a full review of the impact of market competition towards the end of 2015 as a matter of course. This will ensure that the regulator has made a detailed assessment of the actual and potential impact of emerging end-to-end competition based on a better understanding of how the postal market is developing. More information about Ofcom's regulatory regime can be found on its website
	www.ofcom.org.uk

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Flood Control

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 15 July 2013, Official Report, columns 478-9W, on flood control, and his oral answer to the hon. Member for York Central of 9 January 2014, for what reasons the earlier answer shows that his Department's spending on flood protection in England fell from £646 million in 2010-11 to £533 million in 2013-14 when his oral answer on his Department's spending on flood protection states that he is providing more money for this purpose than any previous Government in the current spending review; how the £2.3 billion figure in his oral answer relates to the £646 million and £533 million figures in the answer of 15 July 2013; how the figure of £2.3 billion was calculated; over what period the £2.3 billion will be spent; and what the evidential basis is for the statement that the current Government is providing more than any previous Government on flood protection.

Dan Rogerson: holding answer 14 January 2014
	Together with external contributions under this Government's Partnership Funding approach, more is being spent on flood and coastal erosion risk management during the current spending review period (2011-12 to 2014-15) than in the previous four years (2007-08 to 2010-11).
	The supporting information for this calculation follows.
	I would also like to take this opportunity to correct the record. Floods funding is complex, with a number of different income streams including Government funding, local levies, and other contributions towards schemes. Further analysis has identified some minor inconsistencies in the figures previously provided on historic Government spending on flood risk management, including in the written answer referred to by the hon. Member. I regret that this was not presented in a consistent way, something I have now rectified.
	Government expenditure on flood risk management
	The following figures set out DEFRA expenditure on flood risk management, including through grant in aid provided to the Environment Agency for this purpose. They exclude funding through local levies or other income.
	
		
			  Total (£ million) 
			 2007-08 500 
			 2008-09 568 
			 2009-10 633 
			 2010-11 670 
			 2011-12 573 
			 2012-13 576 
		
	
	Future budgets for flood and coastal erosion risk management
	The following figures set out current budgets, calculated on the same basis.
	
		
			  Total (£ million) 
			 2013-14 577 
			 2014-15 615 
		
	
	Expenditure on flood and coastal erosion risk management during the four-year period from 2007-08 to 2010-11 totalled £2.371 billion. Expenditure already incurred, and planned, during the current spending review period (2011-12 to 2014-15) totals £2.341 billion.
	Funding from external sources spent during the four-year period from 2007-08 to 2010-11 totalled £13 million. For the current spending review period, funding from external contributions under our new Partnership Funding approach are expected to total up to £148 million.
	Taken together, more is therefore being spent on flood risk management than ever before.

Flood Control: Oxford

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will fund a western conveyance channel aimed at cutting flooding risk in Oxford.

Dan Rogerson: Decisions on funding for flood management projects are made by the Environment Agency and are based on criteria agreed with DEFRA. I understand that no business case for this scheme has yet been produced. If, and when, a viable business case can be made, it will be considered alongside other schemes under the normal criteria.

Flood Control: Oxford

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of a western conveyance channel on flood prevention in Oxford.

Dan Rogerson: The Environment Agency is working with Oxford City Council to assess the effect of a western conveyance channel on flood prevention together with other possible options for reducing flooding in Oxford.

Flood Control: Oxford

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to reduce flood risk in Oxford.

Dan Rogerson: The Environment Agency has recently completed the first phase of the Oxford Flood Risk Management Strategy which seeks to reduce flood risk to 3,600 homes and businesses. This includes £2.5million of investment in de-silting channels, increasing the capacity of structures and providing temporary defences. The Environment Agency is working with Oxford City Council, Oxford Flood Alliance and Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership to assess technical solutions and funding options for reducing flooding in Oxford.

Floods: Housing

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what weight is given to flood risks by the Environment Agency when responding to consultations on planning applications for housing.

Dan Rogerson: The Environment Agency is a statutory consultee for planning applications. However, it is the role of the Local Planning Authority to balance flood risk against other considerations.

Gangmasters Licensing Authority

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 6 January 2014, Official Report, column 157W, on Gangmasters Licensing Authority, what the number and value of compensation payments through the imposition of compensation orders was in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13.

George Eustice: The Gangmasters Licensing Authority secured no compensation payments through the imposition of compensation orders during the three financial years 2010-13.

Water: EU Law

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the cost of implementing the Water Framework Directive in England; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Rogerson: Various assessments have been made of the costs of implementing the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in England and Wales. One of the most recent was to inform the first River Basin Management Plans, which set objectives and programmes of measures for the period 2009-15. This estimated a total cost of £300 million arising from actions undertaken in that first cycle alone. Benefits have also been assessed.
	The most recent assessment by Government of the full costs of WFD implementation was made after adoption of the Directive. For England and Wales an annual cost of £900 million was estimated. The Environment Agency is now updating this analysis of WFD costs as part of the review of River Basin Management Plans for 2015-21. Draft Plans will be subject to a six-month consultation later this year. When Ministers agree the final plans, they will take into account the balance of costs and benefits and the appropriate phasing of improvements over this period (to 2021) and beyond to 2027.